Chapter 9 — My Nameless Occupation

During the first month of parallel operation, the Linh Hang system was officially rolled out. The interface was polished and visually striking, packed with an array of complex features, requiring three full days of intensive staff training. Then, the cracks began to show. Tran Loi called Vu Tieu Man, his voice tight with frustration: "Manager Vu, I simply cannot make the Linh Hang system work."

"Why not?"

"The operational logic across our eight departments is completely incompatible with the system's rigid settings. The procedures Sister To developed were tailored over time to fit the practical realities of every department, whereas Linh Hang’s system is a 'one-size-fits-all' form with zero customization capacity."

Department Head Trieu complained in the company group chat: "To enter a single event into this new system, I have to fill out eighteen different data fields. With To Van’s previous template, we only needed six. Is this optimization, or just creating busywork?" The technical department staged a silent protest: "We refuse to use this piece of junk software." Within a month, the usage rate of the Linh Hang system plummeted from one hundred percent to a mere twenty-three. Ha Kien Quoc summoned Chu Han to his office. I was not privy to the contents of that meeting, but the following day, Tran Loi confided in Vu Tieu Man:

"Vice President Chu has been ordered to submit a formal written explanation as to why a three-million-dollar system is gathering dust."

When Vu Tieu Man relayed this to me, she added, "Sister To, how did you know it would turn out like this?"

"Because I understand Hang Vien."

No, to be more precise, it is because I was the operating system of Hang Vien. One can fire me, but one cannot simply delete twelve years of institutional architecture. When they tried to replace me, they finally realized: replacing a person's tasks is easy; replacing a decade’s worth of deep-seated understanding and nuance is impossible.

After the Linh Hang system was abandoned, our proposal became Hang Vien’s only viable path forward. Vu Tieu Man began stationing herself on-site to oversee the implementation. Every week, she sent me detailed progress reports, and I provided guidance from behind the scenes. Everything was going exactly according to plan. That was until the sixth week, when Vu Tieu Man sent a voice message. Her voice sounded strained, almost breathless.

"Sister To, Chu Han figured it out."

"Figured out what?"

"He discovered you are at Thuy Hoa. Today, he pointed his finger directly at Tran Loi and shouted: 'The proposal you are all using was written by To Van. The partner consultant at Thuy Hoa is none other than the administrative specialist fired by Hang Vien. You expect the company to spend eight hundred thousand on a proposal from an ex-employee? Is this some sort of internal sabotage?'"

I leaned back in my chair. It was inevitable.

"How did President Ha respond?"

"President Ha wasn't there. But Chu Han slammed his fist on the table, declaring he wants to terminate the contract with Thuy Hoa."

"Does he even have the authority to do that?"

"He is the Vice General Manager, after all."

I paused to reflect.

"Ignore him. How far along is the implementation?"

"It is at sixty percent. Four departments have finished restructuring their workflows, and the results are excellent. Tran Loi says administrative efficiency has already increased by forty percent."

"Then keep pushing forward. For Chu Han to terminate the contract, he needs Ha Kien Quoc’s signature. Ha Kien Quoc will never pull the plug on a project that is clearly delivering results."

"Sister To, what if—"

"There are no 'what-ifs.'"

I hung up the phone and sent a message to Ha Kien Quoc. It was the first time I had reached out to him since leaving Hang Vien.

"President Ha, the operational proposal from Thuy Hoa was indeed drafted by me. You may choose to terminate the partnership, or you may choose to wait and see the results. But if you choose to terminate, Hang Vien’s internal problems will not simply vanish. You know this in your heart."

Ten minutes later, he replied.